Asian equity markets were mostly higher on the final trading day of the week following another record close for the  S& P 500  overnight.

Earnings dominated trade on Wall Street, with  Facebook  shares soaring over 5 percent following Thursday' s strong results. But  Caterpillar  sank 3 percent after revenue fell short of estimates. On the economic front, weekly jobless claims fell to its lowest level in almost eight years while new home sales declined 8 percent in June.

The  International Monetary Fund trimmed its global growth forecastsagain on Thursday, down to 3.4 percent this year from April' s forecast for 3.7 percent. Geopolitical risks over Ukraine and Iraq, as well as lowered expectations for key emerging markets, are expected to lead to softer growth.

Symbol	Name	Price		Change	%Change
NIKKEI	Nikkei 225 Index	15372.45		88.03	0.58%
HSI	Hang Seng Index	24141.50	---	UNCH	0%
ASX 200	S& P/ASX 200	5586.30		-1.50	-0.03%
SHANGHAI	Shanghai Composite Index	2105.06	---	UNCH	0%
KOSPI	KOSPI Index	2029.20		2.58	0.13%
CNBC 100	CNBC 100 ASIA IDX	7541.04		1.30	0.02%

Nikkei 0.4% higher

Japanese shares rebounded after closing down 0.3 percent on Thursday after  June consumer price inflation  rose 3.3 percent on year, in line with market estimates.

Gains were capped by a stronger  yen  as the currency strengthened to 101.7 per dollar after hitting a one-week low of 101.86 overnight.

In earnings news, camera maker  Canon  slipped 0.2 percent despite second-quarter net income rising 21.6 percent on year.  NTT Docomo  rose over 2 percent ahead of reporting first-quarter earnings later this afternoon.

ASX flat

Australia' s benchmark  S& P ASX 200  retreated after posting its fourth straight six-year peak on Thursday.

Retailer  Woolworths  crept down 0.4 percent after announcing that it received approval from regulators for its takeover offer for Country Road .

Gold miners underperformed after bullion prices hit a one-month low overnight. Both  Evolution Mining  and  Alacer Gold  lost over 3 percent each.

Read MoreEmerging markets rally to continue?

Kospi up 0.1%

South Korean shares snapped its two-day losing streak as investors digested the latest earnings.

Steel giant  POSCO  jumped 1 percent after reporting a steep drop in profits due to the strong won. Meanwhile,  Shinhan Financial  rose 0.3 percent after announcing a near 10 percent rise in interim profit.

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SHARES

There' s no beef about it, prices for red meat are surging and demand for chicken is benefiting.

Chicken' s versatile appeal and its perception as a good source of protein that' s better for you than red meat are also driving sales, RBC Capital Markets' David Palmer said in a phone interview.

" Chicken is really hot right now, and poultry is viewed as a source of protein that' s relatively less inflationary," Palmer said. " You' re seeing even the pizza players get into chicken."

Amid surging beef costs and dampened production, chicken consumption has spiked, rising 17 percent from 2012, according to a recent report from the National Chicken Council. 

" Choice retail value (for beef) is the highest it' s ever been," said William Hahn, an agricultural economist for the USDA. " We' ve had several years of drought. Several years of drought and very high feeds costs discourage supply."

In the wake of rising food costs, restaurants have some protection since they typically lock in commodity contracts six to 18 months ahead of time. But persistently high prices eventually affect them, too.

On average, beef accounts for about 14.4 percent of quick-service restaurants' cost of goods sold, according to a recent Piper Jaffray note. Fine-dining chains, such as  Ruth' s Hospitality Group  and  Del Frisco' s Restaurant Group, are even more exposed.

Rising prices present restaurants with a few options: Pass along prices to consumers and risk driving them away, tinker with recipes to cut down on pricey items or absorb the extra costs.

" With commodity costs, among other restaurant-level expenses, expected to rise at a minimum with inflation, restaurants continue to be challenged to identify the correct menu price increases without jeopardizing same-store sales and profits," Piper Jaffray analysts wrote in a recent report.

Read MoreChipotle blows past Wall Street estimates

Some restaurants, including  burger chain  In-N-Out  and Chipotle, have already chosen to raise prices. Following  Chipotle' s  first nationwide price hike in three years, the Mexican food chain has seen some shift in demand from steak entrees, which rose more, to chicken, which increased less.

" We expected some customers would trade down from steak to chicken as a result of the higher steak premium, and we have, in fact, seen some customers shift from steak to chicken," CFO John Hartung said in a call with analysts.

Sanderson Farms, which produces, processes and distributes chicken, also recently noted a rise in chicken demand. Fresh chicken sales rose 8.1 percent in the second quarter from last spring, CEO Joe Sanderson told analysts.

" We believe the improved demand we are enjoying ... is a result of higher priced beef, not more foot traffic in restaurants," he added.

European shares were higher on Thursday as a business activity index showed the euro zone rebounded in July.

Symbol	Name	Price		Change	%Change	Volume
FTSE	FTSE 100 Index	6808.10		9.95	0.15%	238803052
DAX	DAX Index	9797.26		43.70	0.45%	35705859
CAC 40	CAC 40 Index	4409.56		33.24	0.76%	52956527
IBEX 35	IBEX 35 Idx	10844.10		185.00	1.74%	155074325

 

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SHARES

China' s manufacturing activity rose to an 18-month high in July, according to a private survey Thursday, as the government' s stimulus measures worked their magic, consolidating a recovery in the world' s second biggest economy.

The HSBC flash Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) came in at 52.0, better than a Reuters poll of 51.0 and following the 50.7 final reading in June, marking a second straight month of expansion.

A reading 50 and above indicates expansion and a sub-50 figure points to a contraction.

Australian dollar jumped to a fresh new two-week high of $0.9469 on the news, while Shanghai stocks were up nearly 1 percent.

" It' s a very good strong number to start third quarter with, it' s the strongest reading since January this year. It just seems that mini stimulus are continuing to filter through," said John Zhu, Greater China economist at HSBC.

China' s economy has been rebounding in recent months thanks to a series of support measures doled out by Beijing known as " mini-stimulus," to help avert a more pronounced slowdown.

The government has indicated that it would tolerate slower growth as it rebalances its economy away from a focus on manufacturing and towards domestic consumption.

The country' s gross domestic product for the second quarter grew an annual 7.5 percent, after a 7.4 percent growth in the first quarter. Beijing has a target of 7.5 percent expansion for the full year.

An  earnings  avalanche will hit the stock market Thursday, and analysts say that mostly good reports could continue to drive new highs.

Of the roughly 150 companies reporting as of Wednesday morning, 68 percent beat earnings estimates, and earnings growth is coming in at about 5.5 percent, according to Thomson Reuters.

" We' re seeing that the forward revision ratio we track has been ticking up&mdash not only are companies beating, but analyst are taking their forward numbers higher," said Andrew Burkly, head of institutional portfolio strategy at Oppenheimer Asset Management. " In general, you could say the better economic momentum we saw in the second quarter is playing out in earnings growth in the second quarter. The big one for me is going to be discretionary and retail."

So far, consumer discretionary sector earnings are up by 4 percent, and technology is leading the gains, with earnings growth of the companies that have reported and are expected to report at 12.8 percent, according to Thomson Reuters.

The  S& P 500  ended the day at a record 1,987, up 3 points and its 26th new high of the year. The  Dow  was off 26, dragged lower by  Boeing  andCaterpillar, which reports earnings Thursday but issued a negative sales report Wednesday. Boeing lost more than 2 percent after earnings. ButApple  was up nearly 2.5 percent after its late-day earnings Tuesday, and  Facebook  jumped nearly 4 percent to a record high in late trading  after its earnings.